


dancing on tight ropes

by scribbleddreaming



Category: Alles was zählt
Genre: "Crashed the wrong wedding but it's okay because the best man is hot" AU, I decided to take a break from the sadness and write fluff, M/M, That still ended up super emotional because I'm a cheese ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 01:32:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3791635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribbleddreaming/pseuds/scribbleddreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deniz busts the heavy church doors open and yells: “Mandy!“ which prompts the entire wedding party to turn around and face the man who just heroically stopped a tragedy from happening. Deniz looks down at the aisle with a big smile on his face and when the bride turns around --</p><p>“Who the fuck are you?!“ he hears from the left side of the altar, a male voice. Deniz glances over and sees a dark blond-haired man looking at him with the most enraged face Deniz has seen since he crashed his father’s car. Deniz glances back at the bride, a bride that is definitely not Mandy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	dancing on tight ropes

**Author's Note:**

> I was right in the middle of sadfest, working on a sad Deniz fanfic when I saw a prompt post on tumblr and decided to pick out the most ridiculous of the prompts, namely “Crashed the wrong wedding and now the best man/maid of honor is on my ass, but hey they’re kinda hot so???" and write a fanfic with it. This turned super cheesy because that's the only way I know to write. By the way, I'm German and suck at English dialogue punctuation, especially at 3 am, so if there are hundreds of mistakes in here, I'm sorry. I didn't edit this at all because I'm lazy and I don't think anyone's gonna read this anyways.
> 
> Also, I'm mostly ignoring any semblance of canon or twisting it the way it suits me so... whoops lol

Deniz is running, faster than he ever has before, because he has one goal: He has to stop Mandy’s wedding. It’s an idea that ignited in him and he's literally running with it. He has to convince her that he’s better for her than that smarmy ass, that he had fucked up, yes, but that he’s still the better choice.

Who marries someone after barely four months anyways? This can’t be a good choice, just in general. In the end, he will save her from a lot of lawyer fees and misery, Deniz is sure of that. She will thank him. 

With all the running and incessant inner monologue justifying his current actions to himself, Deniz stops to realize he’s a bit confused as to where he is. He looks around while heaving air into his overworked lungs (reminding him that his gym membership has gone a bit unused lately) and tries to find some point of orientation, but he’s never been in this part of Essen. Who knew Essen was this big? He really needs to broaden his horizons if he gets lost in his own city. 

He’s getting sidetracked - he should just keep running to that church his old hockey colleague Florian had mentioned earlier, he had mentioned going to a wedding, so it must be Mandy’s. He makes a left turn and starts running again, fully ignoring the weird looks he’s getting from random people on the street. Who cares about them? He’s basically a movie hero, he’s the good guy, racing to save his beloved from the biggest mistake of her life. Mandy’s gonna thank him for this and for once, he will have done the right thing.

When he sees the church appear in the distance, he heaves a sigh of relief (or a wheeze, he doesn’t want to know) and runs up the stairs. He can see the wedding limousine waiting outside and the driver is looking at him weirdly. Didn’t Mandy mention wanting a carriage with horses or something?

Deniz busts the heavy church doors open and yells: “Mandy!“ which prompts the entire wedding party to turn around and face the man who just heroically stopped a tragedy from happening. Deniz looks down at the aisle with a big smile on his face and when the bride turns around --

“Who the fuck are you?!“ he hears from the left side of the altar, a male voice. Deniz glances over and sees a dark blond-haired man looking at him with the most enraged face Deniz has seen since he crashed his father’s car. Deniz glances back at the bride, a bride that is definitely not Mandy, but a woman with dark curls that seems oddly familiar, looking at him in confusion and then he looks at the groom, who is definitely not that smarmy ass Christoph, but his old coach Ingo barely holding back his own amusement.

“I… um…,“ are the only sounds that leave Deniz’ throat as he feels like a complete dumb ass with everyone looking at him.

“Sweetheart, I know you like all those cheesy Hollywood flicks, but you didn’t hire someone to recreate that, did you?“ Ingo mutters to his bewildered bride with a snicker. Deniz sees Florian staring at him, as well as some of his other old hockey buddies, including Vanessa. All of them are either shocked, confused or trying to withhold laughter. 

The only one who looks ready to kill him is the best man (aren’t those for the groom usually, not the bride?), who is starting to stride up the aisle towards Deniz with a fury that makes him wish that he could sink into the floor and drop into hell.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Who the hell are you, even?“ the man yells.  

“Uh… I…,“ is Deniz’s only response.

“Bunny, that’s Deniz from my old hockey team who I’m sure is not here to steal Nettchen away from me,“ Ingo says with a barely concealed grin. 

“Uh, no… I mean, I’m not… I was looking for…,“ Deniz stammers with the best man still staring at him like he would love to cut him in pieces and feed him to sharks. “I, I was looking for, uh… Mandy Werthers? Who is not… here.“

“That’s very nice, but could we please proceed with our wedding and focus the attention back to me?“ Annette says with a slightly amused smile on her face. The best man is still glaring at him and huffs an annoyed breath. “Sit down, shut up and if you so much as interrupt this wedding again for a single millisecond I will make you sing in falsetto for the rest of your short life, is that clear?“ 

Deniz’s throat clams up at that mental image and he nods quickly, proceeding to clumsily sit down in the closest pew, next to an elderly couple looking at him with distaste. The best man stomps up the aisle again and takes his place next to the bride, letting the wedding proceed and yet, he still manages to sometimes throw murderous daggers at Deniz only with his eyes, making him wish he were never born. Quite the talent.

Listening to the vows, he is slowly realizing that while he’s sitting here, Mandy is getting married in some other part of Essen, but at this point, with embarrassment and exhaustion from running sunken deep into his bones, he can’t find the energy to care. Maybe it was a dumb idea to begin with. It’s not like Deniz thinks Mandy is going to be The One That Got Away, the love he regrets ever having lost; he loves her, yeah, but does he really love her enough to take her away from a promise of forever? He’d probably have to measure up to that and propose to her, like in the movies, and that’s not really something he wants to do. Deniz isn't quite ready to put a ring on her finger. Maybe this is better, even if he still feels out of place in his jeans and t-shirt. Thinking about it now, he probably should have taken the time to put on a suit, or a dress shirt, or something. Who would leave their groom at the altar for a schmuck in jeans and t-shirt? He really didn’t think this through. 

Everyone suddenly stands up and starts to clap, which must mean Annette and Ingo said 'I do' and are kissing now, so Deniz hastily gets up as well and starts clapping. He gets caught up in the throng of people exiting the church and so watches as everyone proceeds to their cars or the next tram, presumably to go whatever venue they booked for the wedding party. Thank God, he can leave and die in shame.

He’s about to turn away and go when a hand slaps down on his shoulder. He turns back around and looks at a laughing Ingo.  

“Hey, man, I’m sorry about that, I…,“ Deniz starts. “I don’t even know what I was doing.“

“Yeah, nothing new there, huh?“ Ingo replies. “Listen, considering you crashed our wedding, I think you should come to the party so you can be embarrassed and uncomfortable a little bit more. you know, as a little punishment,“ Ingo says with the biggest shit-eating grin Deniz has ever seen.

Please, no, anything but that. “Oh, I don’t know, I don’t wanna intrude,“ Deniz chuckles weakly and he knows he’s already lost. Ingo chuckles, says “See you there, idiot,“ and claps his hand a few times on Deniz’s shoulder before taking off to pick up his wife. Deniz is fucked.

 

* * *

 

Deniz manages to catch a ride with Annette’s sister and her other maid of honor, a woman he swears he’s seen somewhere before, that look at him with confusion and amusement. Yeah, he probably has to get used to that. He’s already thinking of escape routes and what country he could flee to — maybe Australia, that’s nice and far, far away and no one there will know about this day, and he can live out his life in peace. The two friends talk animatedly while barely sparing him a glance, which kind of suits Deniz more than fine. He just wants to get this night over with so he can bury himself under his sheets and never, ever come out.

Once they arrive, the two women immediately jump off to talk to other guests, leaving Deniz to stand around awkwardly at the edge of the ballroom. He quickly finds a chair at an empty table in the back to plant himself on, hoping there aren’t any more people he knows that will never forget this. He pulls out his phone and checks Facebook only to be greeted by a wedding selfie from Mandy. He shoves his phone back in his jeans pocket and resolves to delete his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and every other social media site he might be on so people can’t find him and he doesn’t have to see anything like that again. 

“Hey, Barry Manilow!“ Deniz looks up and sees the best man standing in front of him with a sly grin on his face. Deniz pushes down a brief flare of panic with a “there are too many witnesses here“ shouted at his dumb brain. Deniz just smiles miserably in response. The best man laughs softly and right there, Deniz notices that the guy is actually… kind of good-looking. Especially in that suit.

The blond-haired man comes to rest in the empty chair next to him and nudges him slightly in the side. “So, how does it feel to crash a wedding and have it be the wrong one?“  


Deniz makes a sound that was supposed to sound like a laugh but ends up vaguely sounding like a dying raccoon, and the other man laughs louder this time, seemingly relishing in embarrassing Deniz even further. “I was pretty mad at you back there for almost ruining this amazing event that I single-handedly put together, but knowing you’ll forever live in shame because of it kinda placated me,“ he says with a grin. Deniz can’t help smiling as well, even though he is still a bit miserable about the entire situation.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever live this down,“ Deniz answers and then starts laughing far too loudly for a statement that pathetic. He looks at the other man who is staring at him like a few screws might have been knocked loose in Deniz’s head (which is not an unfair assumption), but he’s still smiling, so he must understand Deniz's mild hysteria. 

“Can I know the name of the guy who almost took my head off today?“ Deniz asks, going out on a limb. This guy really did seem capable of doing that just a few hours before and wouldn’t decapitation just be the icing on the cake of this crap day? 

The best man smiles conspiratorially. “I’m Roman Wild.“

“Wait, Roman Wild?" Deniz asks. “I know that name. Are you famous or something?“

Roman huffs out a laugh. “I guess you could say something like that. I was a figure skater. I made bronze at the World Cup a few years ago," he shrugs. “It’s not gold, but it’s something."

“A medal is a medal," Deniz says in return, earning a surprised and somehow warm look from Roman, which makes his stomach do a weird flip. And isn’t that exactly what he needs right now? Even more confusion. Deniz would sometimes love to punch his own brain in the face. 

“Do you think Annette is going to kill me for almost ruining her wedding?“ Deniz asks, trying to distract himself from the slight flutter in his chest that is betraying him. 

Roman looks at him amusedly. “She’s a big romantic, so you trying to save the love of your life from marrying another guy probably appeals to that. I think you’re safe,“ he  looks away again and chuckles. “Even if she is called Mandy.“

Deniz laughs despite himself. “I wouldn’t call Mandy the love of my life,“ he blurts out. Why did he say that? Who would say that to the best man of a wedding you crashed when he just gave you an out? 

Roman looks back at him with curiosity. “Then why did you do this just to be with her?“ he asks.  

Deniz sighs. “I don’t know anymore, actually. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I guess I… I liked the idea of being with her, you know?“ he looks at Roman, who is looking at him seriously. “It was nice with her, I mean, I never thought I’d be with her forever, but… I guess I miss being really in love and for a minute there, it felt like I was. And I would have done anything to hold onto that.“ 

Roman doesn’t say anything for a moment, just nods thoughtfully. “Yeah, I get that,“ Roman leans back in his chair. “A few weeks ago, I broke up with my boyfriend, Marc. We’d been together before, he was my first big love. When he came back into my life, I fell for him again, I even moved to Hamburg with him. But after a while, reality set in again and I realized that I loved the memory of us, the potential. Faced with an actual relationship with him, it just didn’t work. But I wanted it, I really did, you know?“ he looks at Deniz again, deep into his eyes and Deniz feels something flare up deep inside of him, something he usually tries to hide. It’s not like he’s in denial; he knows he likes men and women, and most of the time can deal with that. But there’s still a part of him that tries to avoid his desire for men whenever it can. It’s just easier to be with women, that way his father won’t be awkward and people won’t look. Deniz nods at Roman and wonders why they’re sharing so much with each other when they barely know each other. Roman doesn’t seem like the kind of person to just tell his life story to any random idiot walking by, and yet, here they are.

Right at that moment, Roman gasps a laugh and says: “I can’t believe I’m telling you this.“  


Deniz smiles at him. “You know what people say, sometimes it’s easier to talk to strangers.“

“I guess so. Even if said strangers are lunatic wedding crashers.“

 

* * *

  

Throughout the night, sitting there with Roman talking, he realizes something: Roman is amazing, and Deniz must be some kind of superhuman to not die from the constant fluttering in his chest. If he didn’t know better, he would think he’s having a very long heart attack that is going to kill him very shortly, but so far, all the signs indicate a massive, intense crush on the best man at the wedding he crashed. Just like Deniz’s luck, as always.

Roman is witty, snarky, honest to a fault, interesting and hot as hell. The more champagne Deniz drinks, the harder it gets to resist those glistening, pink lips basically beckoning him to give in. All of it is made harder by the fact that Roman seems to be fully aware of what Deniz wants, like he can see right through him and it almost seems like Roman’s goading him into kissing him. As the crowd dwindles down and people start leaving the party, Deniz and Roman are two of the few people still remaining. Without noticing, they have edged closer together, until their knees are touching and Deniz can feel Roman’s exhales on his face. Roman stares at him with mischief in his eyes, and his head starts moving in. Deniz is waiting with bated breath and every nerve in his body is singing, full of want and need in a way he hasn’t experienced, maybe ever.

When Roman’s lips finally touch his, it’s hard to suppress the whimper that is fighting its way out of his throat. His lips are softer than he imagined and Roman is so slow and tender, like he’s scared the spell around them will break if he moves any further. So, Deniz takes the initiative and pulls him in with a hand on Roman’s neck, softly stroking over the short hair there. He deepens the kiss and it quickly gets heated. Roman pushes and pulls, playing with Deniz and teasing him, like this is a game. He smiles into kisses and practically slides into Deniz’s lap to get closer. Deniz’s heart is thumping out of his chest and he can feel it in his throat and his head, the blood thrumming in his veins, white-hot. He wants, like lightning shooting through his body. They need to get out of here.

 

* * *

 

Sex with Roman is different from everything he’s ever encountered before. There’s a lightness to it, an ease, and he somehow finds Deniz’s weak points almost immediately, as if he had a blue print of Deniz’s body on hand. Roman lightly bites his neck, making him arch his back in pure arousal and plays with his nipples, knows where to squeeze and grab and suck as if they’d done this a thousand times. Deniz has never been this turned on, this undone and wanton, and he opens his legs willingly, has never wanted to be spread open and taken apart this much. Normally, he doesn’t do this with strangers, it makes him feel too vulnerable and open, but it feels right in this moment, with Roman. When he woke up this morning, he never thought he’d end up here, but he’s so glad he did. When Roman enters him, gently and slowly while staring deep into his eyes with something he can’t quite name, Deniz feels a swell of emotion that blooms in his entire body and makes him tremble. He feels so many things right then, some too scary to think about, and he pulls Roman into a languid kiss, as if he could somehow translate his emotions this way. When Roman pulls away and looks at him, it seems like he understands.

Afterwards, when they lie together in the silent darkness, the only sounds their heaving breaths, Deniz thinks he should probably pull away, but he can’t bring himself to do it. Roman’s head is tucked on his collarbone, and Deniz’s left hand is lightly petting his hair, brushing through the soft strands with his fingertips. Roman’s fingers, meanwhile, are drawing little patterns into Deniz’s right arm, giving him shivers. Deniz hasn’t felt this good in a while and he wants to hold onto this, for as long as he can. 

A little spark of a thought ignites in his head and he tries to shake it away. It’s ridiculous; you can’t fall in love someone this fast, and Deniz, King of the Emotionally-Stunted, certainly can’t, either. This is just the afterglow of really good sex, he tells himself. Tomorrow, they’re going to go their separate ways and Deniz will have to deal with the sadness that is already creeping up at the thought. But until then, he can just lie in silence until he falls asleep and then — 

“Deniz, you’re awake, right?“ Roman whispers and looks up at him. Deniz nods. 

“You don’t do this a lot, do you?“ Roman asks him.

“What do you mean?“ 

Roman vaguely gestures at them. “This. Being with a guy.“

Deniz puts on a fake grin, trying to play off how unsure he feels on this very thin ice of a subject he likes to avoid. “Are you saying I was bad? Because your enthusiastic moans tell a different story.“

Roman lightly slaps his chest. “It’s not about that. I’m just asking. You’re not in the closet, are you?“

Deniz stays silent for a moment. “Not really, no. I had a boyfriend once, so my family and friends do know. I just don’t… broadcast it, I guess.“

Roman hums in acknowledgment. “Still, this isn’t something you usually do.“

Deniz doesn’t like the direction they’re headed in. He wishes for the figure skating talk from earlier where he could just listen in interest without being required to give any input. This is dangerous and too much to deal with, and Deniz just likes to avoid sticky subjects like that regularly. It tends to make life a lot simpler.

"I… I mean, I… I don’t seek it out, you know. It happens sometimes, but, you know, I usually just… stick with girls.“

Roman huffs a bit. “Because it’s easier.“

“Have you ever been with a woman? Believe me, it’s not easier.“

“Maybe not,“ Roman says. “But it’s easier than having people look at you funny because you’re holding hands with a guy.“

Deniz doesn’t respond. Roman knows he’s got him and he doesn’t know what to say. 

“It’s enough. There was a time I wouldn’t have been able to lie here with you and not run away in shame,“ Deniz eventually mutters a little more harshly than he intended. Roman doesn’t reply for a minute. Eventually, he presses a little kiss to the underside of Deniz’s jaw and strokes the stubble there. 

“Can I say something without you running away?“ Roman whispers. Deniz looks at him and nods. “I kinda like you. A lot.“

Deniz’s heart feels like it’s lodged in his throat, preventing him from speaking. What does he say? I like you, too? Because he does. He likes Roman more than he wants to, if he’s honest, and it scares him. This is uncharted territory, it makes him feel like he’s dancing on a tight rope over a valley and he’s terrified he’s going to fall. 

“And I know tomorrow we’re probably gonna go into two different ways and we might not ever see each other again, but,“ Roman stills for a moment, as if he’s steeling himself, “maybe there’s another way as well. Where we see each other again and see where this takes us.“

He sits up now and faces Deniz, Roman’s hand placed over his heart that’s beating so wildly he’s worried it’s going to bust out of his ribcage. He must feel it. “I’d like that, if you’re interested.“

Deniz stays silent and just looks at Roman, face hopeful and bright even in the darkness, this guy he met a few hours ago but feels like he’s known so much longer. Maybe they were supposed to meet years ago, but just kept missing each other. Maybe his brain made the crazy decision of running after Mandy so he could run into Roman, instead.

He pulls Roman into a kiss that is supposed to say “I want this, I want you, I want you so much“ and “Yes, please, don’t leave me“, everything he is too weak to say with words and hopes Roman will understand, anyway. When he pulls away and peers at the man before him, he sees a gentle smile on those curved lips and Deniz can’t help but feel relieved that he gets it. They lie back down and Roman nuzzles into his neck, presses a few light kisses there, with his hand still placed atop Deniz’s heart that is thumping away to the rhythm of Roman’s name at this moment. Deniz wraps his arms around him and closes his eyes, feeling like he could eat the world raw. 

 

* * *

 

“Promise me you’ll call. Even if it’s just to say you don’t want to see me again.“

Roman looks at him with a serious face, which is hard to actually take seriously with his tousled hair and sleepy eyes that make Deniz want to kiss him silly. 

Deniz is standing in Roman’s door, ready to leave, even if he wants to stay. He smiles at Roman and presses a kiss on his lips.

“I promise.“

Roman smiles brightly. “Good.“

When Deniz exits Roman’s apartment building, it feels like a different world than the one he left behind yesterday, which he knows is a ridiculous thing to think, but that’s how it feels. It’s crazy to consider how much the world has shifted for him just by a chance encounter. Deniz smiles and makes his way to the tram, intent on finding his father and telling him about his crazy actions yesterday. He’s not sure if he’s going to tell his dad about Roman just yet; maybe he will soon, when there’s more to tell. Deniz is sure there will be.

 

 


End file.
